On Friday, Sept. 7, the St. Thomas PULSE group performed its opening show of the year, “We Are PULSE,” which aimed to inspire new freshmen, among others, to join the club.

Senior executive board member Albert Conteh explained that the main goal of the show was to highlight what PULSE is all about before tryouts begin on Tuesday, Sept.11.

“We hope this show gives freshmen an incentive to come to tryouts,” Conteh said.

PULSE’s first performance normally features routines from the previous year, but Conteh said many of the dances in this show were choreographed only a few weeks prior to the event.

While the show was full of dance numbers, several students chose to feature their musical talents on the newly resanded, resealed and recoated Brady Educational Center stage. Juniors John Rowland and Mike Scheffler made their live debut together in an acoustic duet.

“I didn’t know that you could play music with it,” Scheffler said. “I thought it was strictly dance.”

Rowland was quick to explain the benefits of PULSE and the community that it brings.

“PULSE is such a cool thing because it allows freshmen, as well as other students, to know that you can express yourself here freely,” Rowland said. “I think that it’s one great thing about this school whether it’s through dance or music.”

Freshman Nick Meyerson said he thought that the show was a lot of fun.

“I thought it was cool how people of all years and skill levels can come out to dance and sing,” Meyerson said.

Meyerson also said he is definitely interested in joining PULSE after the show.

“I came with the attitude of wanting to dance, but after the show, I want to do some singing and some music playing,” Meyerson said. “It’s always nice to have friends with similar interests, and I think it’s the right place to start.”

Junior Elizabeth Harris has been to every PULSE show since her freshman year, and thinks that they continue to get better and better.

“There’s a lot of new talent every year, so I think they’ve been getting better than they were before,” Harris said.

As for Friday’s show, Harris thought it was “definitely up to par.”

“It was really good to come back from summer and see a bunch of new faces, dance moves, and acts,” Harris said.

Alex Goering can be reached at goer8777@stthomas.edu.